DUBAI: An Iranian tanker at the center of an angry confrontation between Iran and Washington sailed for Greece on Monday after it was freed from detention off Gibraltar, as Tehran said any U.S. move to seize the vessel again would have “heavy consequences”.
The Grace 1, renamed the Adrian Darya 1, left anchorage off Gibraltar about 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday. Refinitiv ship tracking data showed on Monday that the vessel was heading to Kalamata in Greece and was scheduled to arrive next Sunday at 0000 GMT.
“We are happy this ordeal has ended and I hope this will lead to less escalation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif said while visiting Finland. He also said the U.S. warrant had no legal basis and was politically motivated to “make more escalation”.
But in an interview with the American NBC network Zarif said that Iran would not take military action to end its standoff with its longtime adversary. “We will not. We have never done that, in the past 250 years. We have defended ourselves. And we have taught good lessons to those who invaded us,” Zarif said.
He also appeared to downplay the possibility of U.S. military action against the Islamic Republic in the interview, saying the U.S. habit of saying “No option is off the table” in its approach to Iran was a violation of the U.N. Charter.
Greek authorities had no immediate comment on the situation. Iran said on Monday any U.S. attempt to seize the tanker would have “heavy consequences”.
Asked whether the United States could renew its seizure request after the tanker sailed from Gibraltar, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said: “Such an action, and even the talk of it ... would endanger shipping safety in open seas.”
“Iran has issued the necessary warnings through official channels, especially the Swiss embassy, to American officials not to commit such an error because it would have heavy consequences,” Mousavi said in remarks on state television.
Zarif on Monday said Iran is not interested in talks with Washington, but any mediation should focus on bringing the United States back to the 2015 nuclear deal which it left last year. Zarif was speaking in Finland after meeting Foreign Affairs Minister Pekka Haavisto, who said Europe was doing its best to salvage the deal.